Kuwabara: Empath
by Flight-Risk
Summary: XmenYYH. Kuwabara undergoes a strange transformation, and soon after, flees Japan and heads to California, where he is found by a strange group of people. Kuwacentric.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

In the city of Tokyo, Japan, things seemed normal. Day after day went by with no oddities, at least, to the average human that is what it would seem. One human, who use to think this way, was currently curled up in a ball, pain searing through his muscular body.

This boy's name was Kuwabara Kazuma; or to us Westerners, Kazuma Kuwabara. He knew for a while how odd this world was, seeing as he knew of three different worlds. He had experienced things that would make any human wish for death, and lived through it.

'Looks like I'll finally meet my end tonight... Damn it, this _hurts!_' Kuwabara, as he preferred to be called, thought, and more pain shot down his spine. He had no clue what was happening to him, and was just wishing it would end, or he just die so he didn't have to feel it anymore.

If he was looking in a mirror, he would have seen the changes overcoming him. His human ears were migrating to the top of his head, where they were becoming triangular and pointed, fur starting to sprout quickly. Not much could be seen on his lower body, but if you looked closely, blood could be seen leaking down the side of his leg, and a furry tail twitching slightly with the pain, ever growing longer. His eyes, if they were open, would have shown his pupils becoming mere slits, and his eye color changing to that of a feline yellow. His two teeth had been pushed out, blood also leaking out of his mouth due to that, and razor-sharp fangs were growing in their place. His tongue was becoming bristled, and his nails had fallen out, and in their place claws grew, that could retract into his skin at will.

If you were to look slowly at his skin, you would see that a fine layer of orange fur – matching his tail, hair, and ear – was growing.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was merely minutes, the pain subsided, and hesitantly, he uncurled himself from his fetal position. Blinking, he noticed that the room seemed light, even though he knew for a fact that it was dark.

'Did someone turn on the lights?' He thought, and licked his lips, tasting blood. He noticed his fangs, which his tongue had brushed against, and the texture of his tongue had changed. Panicking, and rushing to the bathroom, he practically flung himself in front of the mirror, and gasped. He looked... like a cat.

'Am I a demon... no, sis would have mentioned _something_ over the 17 years I lived with her. And... What is this feeling?' In his heart, he was feeling so many emotions, and he knew most of them weren't his. He felt shame, happiness, and sadness, anger, lust, betrayal, and giddy. He could tell they weren't his though, for what he would have been feeling now was shock, and he felt that too.

'What's wrong with me?' He thought to himself, and quickly packing some belongings in a large backpack used for hiking, fled his house, not knowing that someone was currently watching him from afar.

_---line goes here---_

In the United States, a man who's name was Charles Xavier was currently tracking the progress of a new mutant, who was currently in Japan. He was moving quickly, and when getting closer to him, felt fear and panic coursing off of him.

'Jean,' He said, telepathically.

'Yes professor?' The woman, known as Jean, responded.

'Get the jet ready, we have a new mutant; be ready to leave at any time.'

'Alright professor, we'll be on stand-by.'

Charles went back to observing the young mutant, and was surprised to find him over the ocean, heading to California.

From there, after a few hours, the mutant landed, and able to quickly scan his mind for a name, found out that he was Kazuma. He couldn't get much else, due to the panic; though he was getting a lot of feelings that didn't seem to be the young boy's. He sent the signal to go, after the mutant had stopped somewhere in the central area of California.

_---line goes here---_

Kuwabara, knowing he couldn't stay where he could be tracked, snuck aboard a large plane, hiding away in the cargo hold. When they landed, he quickly knocked out the person who came to take the luggage, and made a quick escape, hoping that he wasn't spotted. Luckily, he wasn't. From there, in the pouring rain, he ran as fast and as long as he could, a hat covering his ears and his tail wrapped tightly around his waist.

He knew this flimsy disguise was poor, but it was all he could do at the moment. He couldn't disguise his catlike eyes, or the thin layer of fur, which was currently soaked. Finally collapsing in an alley, he curled up in a ball, and tried to stay warm and dry, though he was failing at both. Emotions swarmed him, making him want to clutch his chest and scream. He didn't want to feel these... He didn't want to feel anything anymore.

_---line goes here---_

Jean, who was a redheaded woman with telepathic and kinetic abilities, was the first person to spot the young Kazuma. Following the professors orders, she only brought two other people with her, Ororo and Logan.

Ororo was a white-haired dark-skinned woman, who had great control over the weather. Logan was a dark haired Canadian, Who had all his bones lined with an indestructible alloy, and three claws on each hand that retracted into his skin. He also had the ability to heal rapidly.

Logan had been brought with them, since he was the only one among the team that knew enough Japanese to communicate. Ororo had volunteered to come, and Jean had come also since she could track the boy's whereabouts.

They came closer to Kazuma, and the boy's eyes shot open, and that's when they noticed the slight differences in him and a normal human. Where people had round pupils, he had slit ones, and the coloring of his iris was a greenish-yellow, and when they stepped a little bit closer, he gave off a hiss, clearly showing his fangs, which were still dripping blood slowly out of the gum.

"_Go away! I didn't no nothing! Just leave me alone, and I'll leave, just don't hurt me!" _Kazuma shouted rapidly in Japanese, curling up more and watching the three people warily.

"_Kid, we no harm, want to help. Come, we help."_ Logan said, trying his hardest to remember the language he never bothered to practice. He didn't deal a lot with the Japanese, so his language usage was being put to the test.

"_You... promise?"_ Kazuma asked, and Logan nodded, saying _"Yes, promise."_

_---line goes here---_

Kuwabara was curled up in a ball on a plane that didn't look like any he had seen before, but wasn't all that surprised about seeing it. He had seen one of his allies and friends sprout wings from a plant and his other friend come back from the dead. Twice.

He was currently trapped in a dream, which was slowly becoming a nightmare.

_Kuwabara caught up with his friends, who were heading to Genkai's temple, and greeted them. They started to greet him, when they caught sight of him._

"_What the fuck happened to you?" Yusuke asked, and Kuwabara looked confused._

"_What do you mean?" Kuwabara reached up and felt his face, seeing if he had anything on it, since they were staring at him strangely, even Hiei. That was when he realized that his face was covered in a fine layer of orange fur._

"_No! No! What's wrong with me?!"_

"_I always knew something was wrong with you. Now I'm positive you're a freak," Hiei spat, and disappeared, along with an agreement from Yusuke, who vanished shortly after._

"_Kurama, what's wrong with me?!"_

"_Don't talk to me; I don't talk to things like you." Kurama said, backing up and looking at him as though he were something rather unpleasant._

"_What am I?! What am I?!"_

"_I don't know, but I do know that you are a freak."_

"_Please... don't hate me. Don't hate me..."_

_---line goes here---_

Logan was keeping an eye on the boy, who looked like he was having a nightmare. He was muttering something in his sleep, that sounded, to him, 'please no hate me, no hate me'.

The plane arrived at the school, and the basketball court opened up to let the plane land. Kazuma took this time to wake up, and Logan could smell the fear coming off of him.

"Logan, take Kazuma to see Hank, get him checked out," Jean said, "I'm going to go see the professor and find a place for Kazuma to stay."

Logan nodded, and grabbing the kid's arm, motioned for him to stand, and he did. He then lead him off of the plane, and to Hank's office, where he called for the doctor.

"Hello Logan, is this the boy?"

"Yes, but he doesn't speak English. Do you need me to stay?"

"Most likely. Just tell him to sit on the table, and that I'm giving him a check-up."

"_Kid, sit," _Logan said while pointing at the metal table, _"Hank-san doctor. Examine you."_

"_O-okay..."_ Kazuma stuttered, and seated himself on the rather cold stainless steel table, waiting for Hank to start the check-up.

_---line goes here---_

"Hello professor," Jean said, entering his office along with Ororo.

"Hello Jean, how is Kazuma?"

"Extremely scared. That was the only emotion I picked up strongly off of him. There were so many in there though..."

"Yes, I am lead to believe that he may be an Empath, and that's why he is like that. It is probably causing even more fear, especially if he doesn't know what is going on.

"Where should he stay?"

"For now, let him have his own room. The second floor has an open room in the East Wing, where most of the boy's are staying. Room 10, I believe."

"Alright professor, I will go get it ready for him."

"Thank you."

_---line goes here---_

Kuwabara was starting to calm down, now that there weren't as many people around him. Most of the emotions he was feeling now were mostly that of tiredness, since it was 3 in the morning here.

The exam had gone smoothly, they didn't seem upset, frightened, or shocked to see his ears and tail, which made him feel a bit better. Hank-san, as the man had called him, had startled Kuwabara at first, since he was furry and blue. But the aftershock went away, and the man then told him to follow.

So he did. And the man lead him up a couple flight of stairs, so they were on the second story, and down a couple of halls where they stopped in front of a door that had a silver '10' on the white wood.

He was then told that this was where he would be staying. The man left, so Kuwabara walked into the room, and saw the clean blue sheets, pillows, maple-stained dresser and desk, and a door to a small closet.

He didn't have anything to change into, so he curled up on the bed, since he felt rather hot, and drifted to sleep, hoping that his dream wouldn't happen.

_---line goes here---_

**Okay, this is chapter 1 of my story. I hope everyone enjoyed this, for it has been a long time since I worked on this. I think a year and a half.**

**Well,**

**Read on!**

**Flight-Risk**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Kuwabara had slept most of the next day away, partly from jet-lag, and partly from staying up most of the night. He had kept waking up, his nightmare playing itself over and over again.

Looking for a bathroom, he wandered out into the hall – which was empty – and noticing that other doors had numbers on them also, started to look into the rooms that didn't have a number on them. He first found a linen closet, which he filed away for later use, and then a supply closet filled with different cleaning chemicals and equipment. Finally, about seven doors down from his own across the hall, there was a bathroom, which he locked himself in and proceeded to take a shower and do his business. He took this time to examine his new features.

His ears, he found out quickly, were sensitive to touch, and anytime they brushed against something, or had wind hit them, they twitched. His tail, which was easily over an arm's length, didn't really listen to his brain, and kept moving unconsciously, though he could get it to wrap around his waist. They were both the same shade of orange as his hair was.

He then examined his hands, where his newly found claws were. He thought they looked a little strange, and found out when he stretched his fingers, the claws extended, but when he curled up his hand, they retracted, but not completely. He could also see his fangs, which were small, and when he closed his mouth, he could see that his fangs went over his bottom teeth snugly, so that it didn't cause any problems.

His eyes, he thought were the most interesting. They were exactly like a cat, and at the moment the pupil was slightly rounder then they were last time he looked, and he decided that was because he didn't feel as scared as he did last time he saw them. They were more green then yellow, and he could see some distinct blue, which was rather cool.

'So I'm a cat... well, it could have been worse. I could have been a dog...' Kuwabara thought, feeling his tongue which held the same sandpaper-like quality as any other cat. He quickly dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing before – due to the fact that he didn't have anything else to wear – and wandered back out into the hall.

He quickly made his way back to the room he had slept in, and locked that door also, before deciding to explore this new space.

_---__line__ goes here---_

Yusuke Urameshi was _not_ happy.

First, he gets a call from a frantic Shizuru saying that her brother's been kidnapped, and possibly tortured. After getting her to calm down some, he heads over to see why she would think this way.

Then he sees the blood on the bed, and the human nails which were scattered across the sheets. He then called up Kurama, who came over, and immediately said it reeked of male cat; but that it wasn't demonic. He then confirmed that the nails were Kuwabara's, and that the male cat's scent disappeared downstairs and out the door. But that was all he could track – last night's rain washed away the rest of the trail.

So now they were missing a team member, and there was something that wasn't demonic, but apparently dangerous wandering around Japan.

"Damn it! What the hell could it be?"

"I have never encountered something like this before... Maybe asking Koenma would be the best option now," Kurama replied calmly, and then proceeded to head home, mentioning that his mother was having company over tonight, and he had to be there.

_---__line__ goes here---_

Kitty Pryde was heading up to the East Wing, where her new 'assignment' was at. Apparently, there was a new kid who didn't speak any English, and since she spoke Japanese pretty fluently, and she had already graduated High School, she had enough time to become acquainted to the new kid, and hopefully teach him enough English that he could attend school. Her first assignment, however, was to get him some clothes.

She reached his door, and knocked on it. She hears some scuffling inside, and then it was silent.

"Hello?" She called, wanting to let the new kid know she was there. She still didn't hear any more noise from within, so she walked straight through the door as if it weren't there, and looked around.

The room was a single-bed room, which made it smaller then most of the other rooms, but allowed for more privacy. Most of the East Wing rooms were single-bed. The room was decorated in shades of blue, and it had a calming effect, though there was something missing; the occupant of the room.

He was probably hiding, she decided, and started to look around. She started with the closet, which was empty. Then she looked under the bed. She was greeted with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

"Are you the new kid?" Kitty asked, and the eyes shifted farther back, and Kitty sighed softly before switching to Japanese.

_"Hey, why don't you come out from under there, and then we can go get you some clothes."_

_"Who are you?"_ He asked, and she noticed that his voice was deep. He had to be in his late teens.

_"I am Kitty, Kitty __Pryde__. Who are you?"_ She asked back, figuring that the best way to get him out was to get a slight trust built.

_"Kazuma... But everyone always calls me by my last name, Kuwabara."_ The new kid responded, and Kitty gave a smile.

_"What would you like me to call you?"_

_"What?" _He asked, and Kitty gave a small grin.

_"Would you like to be known as Kazuma, or as Kuwabara?"_

_"...Kazuma."_

_"Why don't you come on__ out then, __Kazuma.__ I bet you would like to wear something besides whatever you are wearing right now." _Kitty suggested, and the eyes backed away further, before disappearing. Kitty stood back up, and saw him. The first thing that popped into her mind was 'What cute ears!'.

_---__line__ goes here---_

Kuwabara climbed out from underneath the bed, and stood up, stretching slightly as having been under there cramped some of his muscles. He looked at Kitty, and gave a weak smile. She returned it with a bright one, and then tilted her head.

_"We don't have anything at the moment to hide your features, but I can get your measurements and go and get you some clothes, until something becomes available."_

_"__Alright," _he said, then gave her the measurements of his clothes, and told her to choose what she thought best. He didn't know many Western fashions.

_"Well Kazuma, I'll be back with your clothes. You can wander around the mansion for a while, just to get familiar with the area.__ Everyone's at school at the moment, so you should be undisturbed for the time being. Some of the adults are around, but they're busy, and most of them know you don't speak English. Logan knows a little Japanese, he's the one you met yesterday."_

_"Thank you Kitty-chan." _Kuwabara said, and watched amazed as she walked through the door, without ever opening it. He then noticed that the door was still locked, so she must have gotten in that way also.

'People are strange here, but who am I to talk?...'

_---__line__ goes here---_

**Thank you people who reviewed! And thank you especially ****Katzztar****, for your help.**

**Well, ****dunno**** when the next chapter will be out, hopefully not too long.**

**Read on!**

**Flight-Risk**


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Kazuma was wandering the hallways, mostly relying on his Spirit Awareness to guide him around. So far, he had found the kitchen, dining room, and several bathrooms and supply closets, which he filed away in his memory of useful information. He doubted he would have trouble finding them again.

He had also found several empty classrooms, but he couldn't read any of the titles of the books. He had stumbled across a library somewhere along the way, but seeing as he didn't speak – or read – any English, quickly left. He traced his steps back to the kitchen, and grabbing a glass of milk and a couple slices of some kind of lunch meat that looked a light brown color, he had a quick meal, and then decided to head back to the room they were keeping him in – he had a feeling he would be calling it _his_ room soon.

When he got there, he saw Kitty going through some bags, pulling stuff out and folding them.

_"Ah! Kazuma, I got you clothes, and I went and got a couple from most styles, so you would have a variety. It gets boring having the same type of clothes everyday." _Kitty said, smiling. He came over, and noticed that she had indeed gotten some of different styles. He distinctly caught sight of some chains, and quickly looked away. When he had looked at it, he thought of a collar for some reason.

_"Thank you very much, Kitty-chan. Just... I have a little problem..."_ Kazuma said, trailing off, and his tail twitched, as if knowing that the appendage was being spoken of.

_"Ah, that's no problem. Here, slip on a pair of jeans really quick. I'__ll turn around so you can change,"_ Kitty said, catching on to the 'problem' rather quickly.

Kazuma did just that, and felt a slight pain at the spot where his tail was currently crammed in. He then heard a slight rip, and then felt her grab his tail, and the pain went away.

Turning his head to look behind him, he noticed that there was a spot neatly sliced for his tail to go through. He gave a grateful smile to Kitty, and she grinned back.

_"Now, for the rest of your pants..."_

_---__line__ goes here---_

Twelve pair of pants later, Kitty and Kazuma headed down to the cafeteria – in which Kazuma found out was the large dining room – and Kazuma grew nervous. He hadn't interacted with any of the other people, and was slightly afraid to do so. None of his friends back home treated him well – not even his sister did – and why should any of these people treat him well and with respect?

_"Do I have to eat?"_ Kazuma asked, and Kitty looked over.

_"Ah, you're nervous, Kazuma? Well, the cafeteria isn't that crowded around now, since dinner is already halfway over. Now usually people our age and the adults are still eating. After dinner is recreation time __and some have classes. The younger ones want to go outside and play, so they finish first."_Kitty explained, and Kazuma shook his head.

_"I can feel them... I don't know what's wrong with me; no one has told me why I'm even here... They just told me that they wouldn't hurt me, and I trusted them... Kitty-__chan__, why am I here?"_

Kitty looked a little startled, and then shook her head. She would have to be the one to tell him, since Logan didn't speak enough Japanese to get the message across.

_"Kazuma, you're a mutant."_

_"What?!__ What's that?!"_ Kazuma asked, shock and fear written over his features.

_"We are humans, but our genes are more advanced than the normal humans__"_Kitty explained, _"the Professor will explain it better, we can go see him after dinner."_

_"A-alright..."_

They reached the cafeteria by this time, having stopped during the explanation. Kitty pushed open the door, and the noise reached them. Kids were talking, cheering, and gossiping, some playing games, some working on homework, and some just hanging out with their friends, not needing to eat.

Kitty lead him to a smaller group in the corner, where she started to talk in English really fast, then turned back to talk to him.

_"Kazuma, these are my friends. Rouge, she's the one with the white-striped bangs, Bobby, he's the one making the ice sculptures on the table, and next to him __is Kurt."_

"Konbanwa," Kazuma greeted, giving a polite bow. He was nervous, but after facing the Dark Tournament, and that crazy Sensui guy... What could a few kids his age do?

_---__line goes here---_

"Konbanwa," Kazuma said, giving a small bow. Seeing her friends confused faces, she grinned.

"He said good evening." Kitty says, and then sits down, Kazuma doing the same. Kitty was a little confused. First, he seemed really nervous, but then it all went away, and he was calm and relaxed. She didn't dislike the change, just wondered what he had to be thinking to make him relax that much in mere seconds.

"So Kitty, how did you get stuck with new kid duty?" Bobby asked, and Kitty shrugged her shoulder.

"I happen to speak almost fluent Japanese, and that's all Kazuma knows, I think. If he knows English, then he doesn't speak it well. Well, I'm going to go see what's for dinner."

Kitty got up and left, leaving Kazuma to examine the new faces.

_---__line__ goes here---_

Bobby, Rouge, and Kurt were also examining the new kid – Kazooma? – who was strange in their opinion.

"I wonder if he's a shape-shifter, and got stuck?" Bobby was talking to Kurt, who nodded. Rouge just rolled her eyes.

"And they say that girls are the worst gossipers. Look at you two, he's probably nervous already."

"You ruin all the fun," Bobby complained, and Kitty returned then with her and the new kid's food.

They started speaking rapidly in Japanese, and then Kitty turned to them.

"Who was annoyed earlier?" Kitty asked, and the three looked amongst each other.

"Why?"

"It's bothering Kazuma that one of you may have been annoyed at him."

"Oh, I wasn't annoyed at him, I was annoyed at those two," Rouge explained, and Kitty relayed that to Kazuma, who shrugged his shoulder, and replied.

"He apologizes for assuming."

"So how is he going to learn English?" Kurt asked, seeing as none of the adults knew his language.

"I'm teaching him. That's part of my 'new kid' duty." Kitty said.

"That's a bummer, less free time," Bobby said jokingly.

"Hey, Kazuma has it rough already, seeing as he illegally traveled halfway across the world, left his only sister behind, and apparently his job as well. I think I can spare a few weeks, maybe months, into teaching Kazuma a language!" Kitty said, her voice getting louder by the end, and Kazuma rubbed his chest, glancing between the two. Kitty said something quickly, and Kazuma stood up, and after replying – they think at least he replied, seeing as they didn't know what was said – and he left.

"So what is his mutant ability anyways?" Rouge asked, and Kitty smiled, blatantly ignoring Bobby, who looked slightly ashamed.

"He's an Empath, able to feel another person's emotions as his own. I think it affects how he acts too. He sounded annoyed when I came back with the—Damn it, he didn't eat his dinner. I'll take something to him later. Anyways, he had a nasty 36 hours, just let him adjust. Apparently his friends didn't treat him well, and they always called him by his last name, even his best and closest friend."

"Is that... bad?"

"It's formal to call one by their last name, though they did drop the honorifics, so that's why I call him Kazuma, instead of Kuwabara."

_---__line__ goes here---_

"Maybe... I should give them a call... I don't think they found good evidence of my existence back on my bed. I remember nails and blood, but that's about it. Oh god, Shizuru must have freaked out. And my Yukina-chan, what must she think?" Kazuma rambled on to himself, in Japanese, of course. No one was in the hallways, and he was tracking his way back to the room. He felt a lot better in these clothes, seeing as they were clean and had a spot for his tail to go through. He knew he couldn't go out in public, but if he ever got to, he would be able to wear something decent besides a tattered, dirty school uniform.

He reached his room and closing the door behind him, sat down on his bed, and grabbed the bag he had brought with him, and pulled out a small book. The book had a white cover, made of a soft, thin material covering a harder piece of cardboard. Inside, the pages were lined so that he could write in it. It had been given to him by his sister on his last birthday... almost a year ago. It never had been written in.

He heard a knock on his door, and closing the small notebook, told them to come in.

Kitty came through the door, literally, and was holding a plate that was covered with a paper plate.

_"I thought you might get hungry, seeing as you didn't eat your dinner. I brought it to you instead."_

_"Thank you Kitty-chan. __Uhm__... You wouldn't happen to know where any brushes and ink are, would __you?__"_

_"There should be some in the art room, though I'm not sure about ink. Would paint work instead?"_

_"It should. Thank you."_

_"No problem. Now, eat your dinner, I won't leave until you do."_

Kazuma laughed, and uncovered the plate to see pasta coated in a white creamy sauce. It looked strange, but the smells were wonderful.

He ended up eating everything on the plate, and then Kitty left, telling him to get some sleep. He did so willingly, wondering how he got so tired so quickly.

'Must be part of being a cat...' Kazuma thought, before falling asleep.

_---__line__ goes here---_

**I changed a couple of descriptions... but other then that, this chapter is mostly the same...**

**Read on!**

**Flight-Risk**


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"So, how do we go about finding my brother?"

Shizuru, who most of the time was calm and composed, was panicking, and with good reason. She didn't want to lose what she had left of her family, and her brother was tortured and kidnapped just down the hall from her bedroom.

"Koenma is looking for him, and we are trying to track the scent of that cat... thing," Yusuke replied, not in as a good of shape is he usually was either. His best-friend – though in most cases he wouldn't admit it – was taken by a strange entity that smelled like cat, or was a cat, to Kurama.

"But it was raining that night! The trail is dead, and you know it!"

"We can't just give up though!"

Kurama stepped through the door, lowering his umbrella as he took off his sneakers. His hair stuck to his tired looking face, and his normally vibrant emerald eyes were starting to look duller and duller from stress, lack of sleep, and constant worry.

"Please, you two, just... be quiet for five minutes. Yelling isn't going to solve anything any faster."

Shizuru and Yusuke complied, taking a seat. It had been over a week since Shizuru had called them, and there had been no leads. It was looking pretty hopeless right now.

_---__line__ goes here---_

Kazuma spent the last week learning the English alphabet, which looked familiar; he never did well in his English class back in Japan. He also learned how to greet people, and say 'Thank you'. These were the most important in his mind. That way he didn't have to just sit there at lunch, and feel left out of the conversation, though Kitty did do her best to include him in their chatting. He just felt mostly left out when they started laughing.

'Maybe the jokes are funnier in English... They don't seem that funny when spoken in Japanese...' Kazuma thought, and turned his attention back to the little book he had unpacked. He now had some black paint and a couple of nice brushes, and he was going to design the covers. Make it more... personal to him.

Dipping the brush into the paint, he wiped off the thicker parts of it back into the container, and then wrote his name on the cover in big characters, which took up most of the front cover. Then, switching to a smaller brush, he put some paint on it, wiped off the extra, and drew the character for 'Cat' on the front. Mainly for three reasons: one, he _did_ love cats; two, for the change that came over him, leaving him looking like his favorite animal; and three, for his first friend that he made in this place.

_---__line__ goes here---_

**Shorter then I intended it to be, but I need more time to think of other things besides my classes, and I think you all deserve an update.**

**Read on!**

**Flight-Risk**


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Kazuma set down his pen, and read over his letter one last time. It didn't give his whereabouts away, yet gave enough information that he was alive and well.

_"Kazuma, the professor said he would send your letter. Are you finished with it?"_ Kitty said, suddenly phasing through the bedroom door. Kazuma was starting to get use to it by now, though she knew to not do that early in the morning or evening; she would most likely catch him getting changed.

_"Yes, just need to find a way to get rid of my scent on it, without making it obvious..." _Kazuma thought aloud, and Kitty frowned.

_"Why would you need to do that? Are your friends mutants also?" _Kitty asked, and Kazuma looked up, startled.

_"No, they... Well, Kurama does anyways... Not sure about Hiei... But Kurama has a very good sense of smell. I... I cannot tell you any more then that," _Kazuma said, guilt crawling through him on the disappointed look on Kitty's face.

_"Why? Did they threaten you?"_

_"No, it's not like that. What I know... There are laws against sharing information like this."_

_"What do you mean? How do you know then?"_

_"I... Kinda... stumbled into it. I didn't mean to get involved." _Kazuma rubbed the back of his neck, his tail twitching frantically. How much could he tell before he got in trouble with Koenma?

_"Is it like the yakuza then?"_

_"No!"_

_"Then what?"_

_"I guess... I can share a little bit." _

Kazuma sat down on his bed, rubbing his forehead. Kitty grabbed his desk chair, and turning it around, sat down on it.

_"Alright... What do you know about death?" _Kazuma asked.

Kitty blinked, then responded.

_"Well. It can hurt..."_

_"No, not that. I mean, after death."_

_"Like heaven?"__"Sort of... After a person dies, a Ferry girl comes and collects the soul of that person for judgment. They are taken to the Spirit World."_

_"Spirit World?"_

_"Yes, it is like another plane, above this one. There, the dead souls of humans and other such creatures dwell. They can be judged to an eternal paradise, or any of the seven levels of hell. The ruler of the Spirit World is King Enma."_

_"Alright, but what does this have to do with you?"_

_"My employer... he is the son of King Enma, Koenma."_

_"Wait... you _work_ for the Spirit World place?!" _Kitty jumped up from her chair, looking at him with bewildered eyes.

_"Yes, but I am not a bringer of souls. There is another world, a plane, next to this one. There lie creatures more evil, bloodthirsty, and scarier then anything you can imagine. My job is to keep these creatures out of our world."_

_"What are these creatures called?"_

_"I think... I said enough. I'm sorry Kitty-chan. But what you know now is enough to get me in trouble."_

_"So is one of your friends these creatures?" _Kitty asked, and Kazuma looked at her from the corner of his eye.

_"Yes. I have several friends who are these creatures, one who is partly one of them, and then the rest are normal humans."_

_"So one of them, Kurama, can pick up scents?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I'll ask the professor what to do about it." _Kitty said, seeing that Kazuma was extremely nervous. She took the letter, then phased out of the room, straight through the wall.

_--line goes here--_

"Hello...?" Yusuke asked groggily, holding his cell phone to his ear. It was currently four in the morning, and having just fallen asleep three hours ago, he was sure to be in a bad mood; when he got over the sleepiness.

"Yusuke! He's alive! Kazuma's alive!"

"What?!" Yusuke was at full attention now, sitting up so fast the world spun in front of him.

"I got a letter! I don't know how it got here, because mail doesn't get delivered this early, but I have a letter! It's his handwriting and his way of talking and everything!"

"Alright, Shizuru, calm down. I'll be there in ten minutes."

_--line goes here--_

"Okay... So he contacted you?" Kurama asked, his hair falling into his eyes. Swiping them back with his hand, he looked at the letter with sleep glazed eyes.

"Yes... I am sorry to have woken you, but I want to know if you can get any clues as to where my baby brother is."

"Here, let me see." Shizuru handed over the letter to the redhead, and Kurama looked over the letter, reading it twice before sniffing at it.

"There's no scent."

"What do you mean?" The others in the room jumped, but Kurama just turned around and looked at the new arrival.

"Hiei, good of you to join us."

"Quit the small talk fox, and explain."

"Usually, with a letter, you can pick up scents; the scent from hands touching the paper, envelope, stamp, the smell of the ink, from the air that was trapped while sealing the envelope. But there isn't any of that. It's like... a blank space surrounding my hand."

"Hand me the letter."

Kurama handed Hiei the paper, and He gazed at it, but not bothering to read it. Focusing his psychic energy on the paper, he looked up at the small group.

"There's a small barrier surrounding the paper. I can break it if you wish."

"A barrier?" Yusuke asked, and Hiei rolled his eyes.

"Yes. That is what I said."

"Yeah, I know. I was just... never mind. Just break it."

Hiei glanced back at the paper, then handed it back to Kurama.

"It was a weak barrier, made by a human."

"Yes... but the scent of that cat is covering this paper..."

"What! You mean, my brother didn't write this letter?"

"I didn't say that. I think... No. It's impossible."

"Ku-ra-maa..." Yusuke whined, "don't _do_ that. Just tell us!"

"Well... What if Kuwabara... was this cat?"

"...Explain please, for us lowly idiots."

"Very funny Yusuke," Kurama said sarcastically, "what I mean is if this scent, the scent we've been chasing, _is_ Kuwabara's. I mean, the blood on the sheets, the nails. What if something went wrong within him a while ago, and it was turning him into... something else entirely?"

"But the only time something could have gone wrong was when..."

"When he used that sword handle at the Dark Tournament. it could have mixed with his spiritual or even life energy."

"Oh gods... My baby brother... he's a cat now?"

"Possibly. But this gives us a lead."

"Why?"

"Well... If I was Kuwabara, going through the pain that he must have gone through, then realized what he had become, I would panic. I would get as far away as I could. Where would that be for you?"

"Dammit... You mean he's in _a whole other country?! _How is _that_ a lead!"

"Because, we've been searching in the Demon World for him. We can try to search the countries close to us, then span out."

"Where should we start?"

"We'll start with China, then America."

"I'll go inform Koenma."

_--line goes here--_

**Hmm. I didn't look over this chapter as well as I would have liked. If you notice anything that doesn't make sense, just let me know. Also, I haven't seen the Sensui Saga for YYH (I know, the horror), But I've seen the Three Kings Saga (Weird, ne?) so I don't know what else they think could have affected Kazuma's energy directly. If anyone can think of anything, review and let me know!**

**Read on!**

**Flight-Risk**


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